Friends
It seems that whenever you turn on the news these days it is filled with “bad news”. Certainly, with continued war in the Middle East, the economy, and an ongoing barrage of political back and forth, on first glance it would seem that humanity is in real trouble.
However, I also hear other stories. I hear the stories from many of those who serve in our feeding programs and who take to the streets to seek out those who are food insecure. I hear the stories of life changing moments when people feel seen and heard. I read the stories of ordinary people who, because of their faith, are serving, listening, and making a difference. These are the stories that inspire me and give me hope. They are the stories that impact the world and offer you and I a reason to continue to do what we do.
Our current sermon series “Inspired” has encouraged us to reclaim the stories of our sacred text. These stories are both complicated and complex. They are stories that relate to us a people’s relationship and understanding of God from their own lens, their own perspective. They tell us of God’s faithfulness and, as I shared last Sunday as we explored the complicated texts of terror, they are written from the winner’s viewpoint.
Jesus knew this and, speaking through parables and stories, he helped to reshape the perspective and re-tell the story. He saw life through a lens of grace and love and models for us how to see God working through the story of human life. He often quoted the Old Testament, the Torah and gave them new insights and understandings.
As we gather again this weekend, we will have opportunity to hear the “Good News”, not just of God’s love, but how we are to be vessels of that love through our own individual lives, our own individual story.
I do hope that you will come again this Sunday with your story and, when we blend them together throughout time we not only see “Good News” but we also bear witness to a story of faithfulness, grace, forgiveness and, yes, love.
Blessings,
